Steps were scattering around hastily outside of the Canterlot castle throne room. Starlight Glimmer was asked to be met by the one and only Princess of the Night, which she was extremely nervous about. She had talked to the princesses upfront before but that was because of a friendship problem and to save Equestria. But this was something she had no clue why the princess had needed her acquaintance.

Beads of sweat were dripping down her forehead as the clock on the wall kept ticking every time she was stomping about. She soon stopped to look at the wonderful scenery outside of the castle's window to get her mind off this catastrophe she was holding against her shoulders.

With a gulp, she could see two birds flying towards a nest, that was laying on a tree branch nearby, with worms in their beaks and handing it over to their baby birds that had just been hatched from their eggs. The clouds were moving quicker than usual as pegasi were moving them to the other side of the sky to clear up. Leaves from the trees were waving about, whistling in the wind. The sunlight was gleaming through the window as the leaves kept on falling to the ground in the lovely autumn weather.

Starlight's face was relaxed on her hooves, peacefully watching the beautiful, nature view. Until she was suddenly caught off track as the door of the throne room had creaked. This made her head perked up from her trance and turned around to see the door sway open with a presence of blue magic.

A tall, dark blue alicorn was standing in the doorway, looking pleasantly pleased to see the lavender unicorn in front of her. Starlight was nervous, her legs were wobbling like jelly sitting on a plate and her teeth were cluttering sheepishly due to the princess' presence.

''Starlight Glimmer!'' Luna trotted forward to approach her and break the silence. ''So lovely to see you again. Please, may you come in.''

With a swallow, Starlight hastily gave a smile before trotting into the throne room. Luna spread out one of her wings to push her inside before entering herself and using her magic to close the door behind them.

The throne room was massive, there was two equal-heighted thrones which was something new and different. There was also some yellow stars and moons decorated on the walls of the throne room now. Water was rushing down peacefully besides both of the two high thrones.

''Wow,'' Starlight murmured. ''This place has changed a lot since the last time I was here.''

''Mmm, yes, indeed.'' Luna nodded. ''I insisted my sister to make both of our thrones a equal height or otherwise it would not be fair.''

''I know what's that feels like,'' Starlight said. She was rubbing her arm as she lowered her eyes to the ground in a miserable way.

Luna lifted her chin to meet her teal eyes. ''Which is why I have brought you here.''

''About what?'' Starlight asked, looking somewhat confused on what the alicorn was saying.

Luna trotted up the staircase to take a seat on her glorious throne, whereas the unicorn just stood in her place.

''You know how my sister has had somepony to guide over the years?''

Starlight nodded. ''Twilight told me about being her protégé, but what has that got to do to why I'm here?''

Luna spread out her wings. ''I have called you here because I want to take you under my wing and guide you along the path just like my sister has once done. I feel somewhat...lonely.''

Starlight's eyes went wide. ''I'm sorry, but what was that?''

Luna trotted down to approach her. ''I want to guide you along the way just like my sister once did.''

Starlight froze, trying to process her brain and ears if she had heard that right. There was just silence between the two ponies in the throne room and all they could hear was the water rushing down swiftly.

''Y-You...want me to...be your protégé as well?''

Luna looked uneasy. ''Well, not exactly protégé but it will do.'' She looked towards the lavender unicorn. ''Why? Are you nervous?''

Starlight couldn't help but nod at that question, hastily. She soon found herself standing under the alicorn's wing as she wrapped it around her.

''Do not be nervous, my child. There shall be no formalities between you and I. Thou hast seen Twilight acting towards my sister?''

Starlight tried to think about it and all she could imagine was all of the times where Twilight would get stressed out to impress her mentor on important events or celebrations.

''And you would make me into an alicorn just like Twilight?'' Starlight guessed, a little bit excited.

''Alicorn is in your nature already,'' Luna said. ''There shall be no need to make you into an alicorn when you are already powerful. Besides, you will lose all that power once you become into an alicorn. Believe me.''

Starlight chortled. ''Yeah, I believe you. Trixie told me how Twilight would be so powerfully spectacular as a unicorn but literally can't defend herself right now.''

Luna eyed her. ''Is that so? Who is this Trixie thou speak of?''

Starlight cluttered. ''Anyway, what do you do when you're the princess' protégé?''

''We get to know each other first,'' Luna noted. ''Isn't that what thou do in friendship thou call it?''

''Yes,'' said Starlight, ''and we haven't probably met each other, just when the world was in danger.''

''Indeed.'' Luna nodded. ''So what do thou do for an introduction?''

''We talk about what we like and do, what our hobbies are,'' Starlight gabbled. ''I'm waffling again, aren't I?''

''What is waffling thou speak of?''

With a another gulp, Starlight quickly said, ''nothing!''

Luna eyed her for a second.

''Thou are a lot more to get nervous about than Twilight Sparkle,'' Luna noted as she spotted drops of sweat falling down the unicorn's forehead. ''Anyway, how are thou so powerful, even more than an alicorn?''

Starlight's head perked up. ''Pardon?''

''I said how are thou so powerful,'' Luna repeated, ''even more than an alicorn?''

''W-Well, you might not want to know the reason behind it. It's sort of a long story.''

The tall, dark blue alicorn was moving a couch directly towards the lavender unicorn and then sat comfortably on it with a bag of popcorn levitating in the air beside her in her magical surge.

''And a horrid one too,'' Starlight quickly added.

The bag of popcorn immediately fell to the ground. ''What could be so horrid other than being banished to the moon for a thousand years by thou own sister for creating an eternal night in Equestria because thou were jealous of thou own sister?''

''Oh my gosh!'' Starlight exclaimed. ''I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-''

''It's quite alright,'' said Luna. ''Remember, no thinking we are better than one another. We are both ponies, aren't we?''

''Yes, your highness.'' Starlight quickly gave a respectful blob.

''Although, you could tell Twilight that,'' Starlight muttered underneath her breath.

''What was that?''

Starlight shook her head. ''I mean I was once just a heartbroken little filly. Sunburst knew everything about magic and taught me all. Although, my magic was very powerful for my age that I couldn't be able to do anything that properly. Then Sunburst got his cutie mark and got sent off to magic kindergarten in Canterlot.''

She went on. ''I stayed in Sire's Hollow, my home town. Heartbroken and desperate for my cutie mark. I believed that cutie marks was the problem. Without cutie marks, no one would feel like an outcast or feel different. We are all equal! That's how Twilight and her friends found me, at ''Our Town'' - a village that I have created and stole everyponies cutie marks.''

She turned to the alicorn. ''I won't continue to go further, I don't want to lose somepony as a friend who knows what I have been through.''

Luna stared at her for a moment, then slowly wrapped a wing around her. ''Getting your cutie mark last is no big of a deal, we are all different and cutie marks takes time.''

''I wish I knew that before,'' Starlight muttered.

Luna lifted her chin to meet her eye level. ''I, too, was suddenly seen as an outcast. My sister was shown to be more brighter than I, everyone worshipped the sun princess, they all adored her. I was so sick of it that my bitterness ended up blackening my heart.'' She turned to her. ''And you already know the rest.''

''Huh.'' Starlight shared a moment to think. ''I guess you and I really are alike.''

Luna nodded. ''Although, how did you manage to steal or swap cutie marks? I remember that previous incident with my sister and I. You're a talented and powerful young unicorn, you know that?''

Starlight rubbed her foreleg. ''Well, after Sunburst had left with his new cutie mark, I started going into depth of cutie mark research. I still don't know where my cutie mark had come from. It's all just a blur, just all of a sudden when I was doing some spells I was creating.''

Luna's eyes went wide. ''You can create spells? Tis not even I, an alicorn for ten thousand years, could do that!''

''It's probably not so big of a deal. I bet any unicorn fool could do that. Like when Twilight completed that unfinished Starswirl the Bearded's masterpiece. She's so special.'' She gave out a long sigh. ''I hate talking like this about one of my friends.''

Starlight suddenly felt a hoof shove below her chin, lifting it up to face the alicorn's crystal night teal eyes.

''Having a cutie mark does not define you nor tells you what not to do. What you choose what a cutie mark identifies is all that matters,'' Luna explained. ''So tell me, what do you see in your cutie mark?''

Glancing at the glimmer on her flank, she bit her lip. ''This might be funny but it reminds me of... toothpaste.''

Soon, she found herself the only one chuckling. Then she stopped once she saw a look on the alicorn's face. Clearing up her throat to excuse herself, Luna took this opportunity to articulate further.

''Okay, then maybe thou cutie mark shall define... filling up an empty toothpaste with thou magic. Transfiguration!''

Starlight thought about it for a second. But then she shook her head.

Luna rubbed her chin. ''What is one thing that thou most desire in the whole wide world of Equestria?''

''I, err, this might be embarrassing but...''

''Nothing is embarrassing,'' Luna interjected. ''Thou just need to toughen thouself up.''

''Right.'' Starlight cleared her throat. ''I like...kites? But that can't do anything with my cutie mark, can it?''

''Sure it can.'' Luna glanced at the lavender unicorn's flank (don't think of this as inappropriate, you cur). ''We can imagine that purple star as a kite already and that glimmer could be thou magic!''

The lavender unicorn thought about it for a moment, then moved her head upwards and downwards, implying she had liked the sound of that.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door from outside of the throne room. The door swayed open with a glow of yellow magic to have a tall, white alicorn appear in the way.

''Hi, Luna!'' she beamed. ''Sorry to interrupt your friendly conversation but I would just like to ask...where did you put my secret stash of cakes again? I can't find it anywhere in the kitchen cabinets or under my bed. And hello, Starlight! How are you doing?''

Starlight slowly lifted up her hoof to wave. ''I'm doing good and...secret stash of cakes?''

''Uhm...'' Celestia mumbled. ''You heard nothing!'' And with that, she quickly slammed the doors closed again and flew her way through the castle corridors to head off to the royal kitchen again for a double checkup.

''What was that about?'' Starlight asked, looking at the alicorn beside her.

''Her and her obsession with cake.''

Starlight's eyes goggled. ''You mean the rumours were true? She really is obsessed with cake? And I got told that by her own sister? Wow! I can't wait to tell Twilight!''

''I believe that she already knows,'' said Luna casually.

''Oh,'' Starlight said, having her voice sink.

Luna turned towards her, placing a hoof below her chin again to meet her teal eyes. ''Now I know how my sister would assign Twilight Sparkle some friendship lessons, but you have already done that when you were Twilight's student. But I promise you that I would not gain a crush on you just like my sister has on Twilight.''

Luna leaned in to whisper. ''Just between you and me, she sleeps with a stuffed toy in the form of Twilight Sparkle.''

''I HEARD THAT, LUNA!'' a voice boomed from the hallways of the castle.

''Shut up, Tia,'' Luna said, not bothered to turn around to the sound of her sister's voice.

Starlight laughed. ''Well, what do I do for you then?''

''I have not been into detail about this,'' Luna murmured. ''Then I guess that's why Twilight tends to plan a schedule everywhere she goes. I should start becoming like her.''

''Please. No.''

Author's Notes:

I find it unbearable how these two characters has never been seen together in the show, apart from ''To Where and Back Again'' and ''A Royal Problem''.